"Don't worry," her friend said. "Just feed Iggy Chinese greens and dogfood and give him a place to sleep."

So, the iguana, close to 60cm long, promptly became a member of her household. He spends most of his time on top of the fridge, slipping down to the kitchen floor in the mornings for his breakfast before retreating to the top again - the master of all he surveys.

Now, however, Iggy has come down with diarrhoea and stopped eating, and the lady rang to ask, "What should I do?"

This lady is educated. Her English is fluent, but she's never surfed the Internet for information on iguanas. In a few seconds, I find some very informative iguana websites, and in a few more seconds I can tell her, without ever having seen Iggy, what has probably caused his illness.

"Darlin'," I say. "You have to feed Iggy a variety of greens."

The iguana sites are especially insistent on variety. While some lizards are omnivorous and eat both meat and vegetables, iguanas are herbivores. They need dark, leafy green vegetables, but not too much spinach or broccoli, both of which affect calcium absorption. Other sites suggest green beans, green peppers, frozen mixed vegetables, squash and fruits, such as bananas, apples, mangoes and papaya. Just vary the diet from day to day.

Iguanas can eat meat, but only a little. Too much dogfood, catfood or fresh chicken, pork and beef can cause renal failure. Some iguanas love the stuff, but it should be a treat - a little bit once or twice a month, no more.

Through ignorance, the lady was also committing some sins of omission. Iguanas, say these sites, need a water source. They may get enough liquid from the greens they eat, but they should have a water dish, especially in the dry season.

You should also spray them with water once a day, just to keep them hydrated. Some sites even say that you should give them the opportunity to bathe two or three times a week. The water in the dish should be shallow, only a few centimetres high.

Suitable food and clean water aren't enough for Iggy. The lady also omitted the most crucial factor in an iguana's good health - sunlight, lots of it. Without vitamin D3 from the sun, he can neither digest his food nor grow.

Iggy is slowly dying, and though I explain all the factors to the lady, she still insists that "Iggy gets the best Chinese greens that money can buy."

She may find these websites useful: www.cvm.uiuc.edu, www.drexotic.com, www.baskingspot.com and www.anapsid.org.

By Laurie rosenthal  

Questions about your pets?

Fax (02) 751 4446 or e-mail laurie@nationgroup.com.